1.1 - Technophobia

Synopsis

When the Doctor and Donna visit Londons Technology Museum for a glimpse into the future, things dont go to plan.

The most brilliant IT brain in the country cant use her computer. More worrying, the exhibits are attacking the visitors, while outside, people seem to be losing control of the technology that runs their lives.

Is it all down to simple human stupidity, or is something more sinister going on?

Beneath the streets, the Koggnossenti are waiting. For all of London to fall prey to technophobia...

Lots of fun.
Awesome to hear this pair together and this feels like a wacky and exciting way to kick off the set!

After listening a second time I actually enjoyed this more.
I always love when arrogant know it all villains get what’s coming and this is one of those ones were the baddies get a taste of their own medicine.

Series four was a highpoint for Doctor Who. In 2008, David Tennant and Catherine Tate's run as the 10th Doctor and Donna Noble saw some of the show's highest viewing figures. Now, eight years later they have finally returned via the medium of audio. And boy was it worth the wait.

Technophobia follows the Doctor and Donna arriving in our modern day (but Donna's near future given that she is from 2008) at the National Technology Museum, where technology starts to turn against the people of London. It feels like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, especially when the characters start to turn paranoid about machines because they can no longer understand them (one notable scene sees the population confused over a cash machine, something which we have considered commonplace but these characters believe could be a threat). In fact, if Alfred Hitchcock was here in the modern day and was asked to direct a Doctor Who episode, this is how I would imagine it being. The Hitchcockian method on playing on the psychology of people's minds and how it can affect our behaviour as a source of fear is extremely powerful stuff and works brilliantly for a Doctor Who episode (especially on audio).

So who's causing all this? A new threat called the Koggnossenti; an absolutely terrifying creation by writer Matt Fritton that definitely rivals monsters created for the new series. Hitchcock would be very impressed with their plan as it involves delving into the human mind: what would happen if we all technologically regressed and became less knowledgable to the point of being stupid? How would we react? The Koggnossenti's plan is basically to de-evolve our knowledge to a much earlier state and there is something decidedly chilling about seeing Meadow Digital (technology company) CEO Jill Meadows reduced to the point of not even knowing what a pencil is; this isn't played for laughs but more as a kind of tragic event that the Doctor of course sets out to solve.

And that brings me onto something else I love about this release, something that I love seeing Doctor Who stories do: when the Doctor ends up infected. That's what truly makes a Doctor Who villain great, because if the Doctor is affected by the plans then you know the other characters are in trouble. It's great hearing him stripped of his Time Lord knowledge, essentially made powerless against the new threat. Yet he still wins, he still manages to save the day...but he has to struggle to do so. For the Doctor, this is like Superman faced with Kryptonite or Tony Stark stripped of his Iron Man suit. It's always refreshing to see heroes have their powers removed.

The cast is a big highlight of this audio. David Tennant and Catherine Tate are perfect; their friendship is exactly as it was during series four: best friends travelling together having the time of their life. Then there's the amazing Rory Keenan, who plays a very likeable train driver called Kevin Jones whom I would love to see return in a future Big Finish release. I also loved temp 'Bex with an X' - a nice callback to Linda with a Y - played by Niky Wardley. She seemed like somebody who could be a future companion for the 10th Doctor maybe for a release between Journey's End and the Specials. Big Finish often feature brilliant casts with a variety of memorable characters and it's nice to see this continue with the 10th Doctor.

Overall, Technophobia is a perfect start for the 10th Doctor's run on audio. David Tennant and Catherine Tate are on top-form as one of the best Doctor-companion partnerships the show has ever seen and writer Matt Fritton provides a wonderful Hitchcockian vibe to this thriller about technology turning against us. Don't be surprised if you come away feeling a bit paranoid about your tablet though.

Koggnossenti - and the line aliens like a good tunnel is potentially a smile fulfilling element, of an overall much anticipated 10th Doctor release from Big Finish's Nu Who range. We have the original team back in the shape of Tennant and Tate, with Litton taking on the writing duties in place of Moffat. The big question does it work. Well we have two wonderfully talented actors, and two massively established parts of which both Catherine and Neil are more than ay ease to play. Have Big Finish sprinkled their magic again, and made what was once the providence of the BBC, better, and more, well more robust and ultimately a much more well written and produced. Well first a synopsis of the story, the Koggnossenti are an alien race whom have dropped to Earth and by a neural method of hypnosis and suggestive thought they are slowly rubbing the planet's population, yes us humans, of any sort of understanding, it manifests itself at first as a total loss, leaving just fear of technology, we become technophobes a clearly creating a pathway for them to have a willing, anxiety and fear fuelled race of slaves, again yes us, humans will be at their mercy. Needless to say the human race as to once more call on the Doctor and his companion to save us. Well my verdict is for the first outing it's good, it's entertaining and it delivers like that famous brand of wood preserve. Is it perhaps a classic, then no. Too safe and too much playing to the conceptual and precognitive BBC persona and writing of the 10th Doctor that we saw on T.V. It needs to get better. However what is always a winner is even this, which isn't outstanding Big Finish output, still is a million miles better than anything else that the BBC wrote or produced, I beg belief how Big Finish's writing team are not hijacked by the corporation to write for the T.V. version as they are just so clearly head and shoulders above anything that I saw with Tennant and Tate in when they had their respective stint. Good efforts Big Finish, you can only get better.

Hearing David and Catherine reprise their roles is great and Big Finish provide their usual excellent production values but, as original as this story is, I feel it's missing the Russell T Davies touch.